The Adaptive Relay Valve Drive

(ARVD) for Picanol's OMNIp/us

800 air-jet weaving machine
ers air consumption and
tts reduces energy costs.

F abric manufacturers are under

pressure more than ever. Weavers
around the world are fighting
against higher costs in terms of
labor, raw material, production time
and reduced energ\' consumption to
remain competitive. In turn, the
Textite World presents
some recent technologies
that provide improved
efficiencies in the weaving mill.
Air-Jet Weaving
Italy-based Itema Weaving has
recently upgraded its Sulzer Textir'^'
L5500 air-jet weaving machine,
suited primarily for applications such
as quality apparel and home textile
fabrics made with natural or man-
machinery suppliers are challenged to By Jurg Rupp, Executive Editor made fibers or blends.
provide up-to-date machiner^'. Key benefits of this machine are
In times of increasing energ)' costs, winder are compared with a refer- said to be the fabric quality and low
it is of utmost interest for fabric pro- ence value by the machine's micro- running costs. According to Itema
ducers to use weaving machines that processor. Since the filling Weaving, the L5500's strength is its
offer reduced energy consumption. insertion speed varies from one competitiveness in terms of its capac-
pick to another, it is not necessar}' ity to conveniently weave fabrics
Adaptive Relay Valve Drive for the relay nozzles to blow for that comply with superior quality
Picanol NV, Belgium, provided the the same amount of time at each standards, while also maintaining a
following information about its pick. Consequently, the machine high degree of efficiency even at top
Adaptive Relay Valve Drive, which is adapts the closing timings for the performance levels. The company
featured on its OMNlplus 800 air-jet relay nozzle valves automatically. adds that "conveniently" also means
weaving machine: For a fast pick, the relay nozzle producing with reduced off-quality
valves do not stay open very long. rates and reduced air consumption
Adaptive Relay Valve Drive ... For a slow pick, they stay open per meter of fabric, which improves
(ARVD) automatically adapts the longer. ... This is done from the profits. T\^e L5500's RTC (Real Time
closing timing of the relay nozzle second relay nozzle valve onwards. Controller) function enables the
valves to the behavior of the filling machine to adapt to various weaving
yam. Instead of appKing one setting Picanol notes that decreased air conditions, thereby obtaining signifi-
for all the different picks, ARVD consumption reduces energ>' costs, cant air-consumption savings.
applies the best relay valve timing and reduced blowing on the filling Targeted customers are weavers
for each individual pick, thus reduc- yarn reduces the number of broken interested in superior production to
ing the overall air consumption. picks. Also, Pick Repair Automation enable entrance into new, highly
At each insertion cycle, the has a higher success rate because the profitable markets. The L5500 can be
winding timings from the pre- type offillingstops changes. adapted to different production

J6 JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010 TextiteWorld.com

 requirements. Easy operation, widest be handled freely. Heddle distribu-
range of application and shortest set- tion can be programmed on up
_ÜJQg times-ate-key-^ctors.. to 28 frames. It also is possible to
Recent upgrades in the L5500 use two different types of drop
technology have increased the wires for the same weaving harness
machine's efficiency and perfor- — an application that is especially
mance. For standard weaving, the interesting for terry
maximum speed now is 1,200 revolu- weaving
tions per minute, and the maximum with upper
weaving width is 4,000 millimeters beams and
(mm). This is equal to a production varying
capacity in excess of 2,500-meters- drop wire
per~minute weft insertion rate. weights for Stàubti's upgraded Safir
the ground automatic drawing-in machine
Drawing-in: An threads and can be configured to draw in one or
Important Cost Factor pile threads. two warp beams, each having up to eight thread layers.
Switzeriand-based Stäubli AG With virtually
reports that automatic drawing-in unrestricted application Stäubli's Topmatic t^ing machine line.
machines for the weaving harness have potential, Stäubli says Safir sets new The machines feature a new, patented
long helped weaving mills around the standards in automatic drawing-in. separating system that reliably sepa-
world stay competitive. Automatically The machine also features user- rates threads from the lease com-
drawn-in warps are characterized by friendly ergonomics and convenient pletely without using thread-specific
zero defect and high quality, and tiiey operation using a color touchscreen. separating elements and without
are available as required for production Warp-tying is another cost factor making special adjustments. Optical
in a fraction of the time compared with in the weaving mill. Stäubli reports its sensors check every separated yarn
manual drawing-in. Magma warp-tying machine is espe- pair before tying, thus preventing a
According to Stäubli, the upgraded cially suitable for tying coarse yams. false double yarn from being tied. The
Safir automatic drawing-in machine A patent-pending system that works fault can be corrected simply.
offers new opportunities regarding without yam-specific settings enables Depending on yam material, single or
flexibility, thanks to the refinement of separation of threads to be tied at the double knots can be tied, as selected
proven system components from the lease, which considerably simplifies by a simple push of a button. Opti-
Delta line combined with established operation and changing from one mization of the tying rate is accom-
state-of-the-art technologies, particu- application to the next. A built-in plished using the adjustment wheel.
larly the Opal leasing machine. Since camera system monitors the separa- Magma can tie a range of yarns
its introduction at ITMA 2007 in tion of the threads, thus eliminating including wool, cotton, linen and
Munich, Germany, and after several doubled threads. MagiTia also can be other staple yams, as well as mono-
upgrades, the machine can be config- set easily to tie double knots, and and multifilaments, polypropylene
ured to draw in one or two warp therefore can tie even very slick yams ribbons, and many other yam types.
beams, each having up to eight reliably, according to the company. The yarn count for staple fibers
thread layers. A camera system The Magma warp-tving machine ranges from Ne 0.3 to 50 for warps
checks the yam to be drawn in during for coarse yarns complements with 1:1 lease. The machine comes
each cycle and ensures against equipped with an optical dou-
drawing-in of double threads or I Itema Weaving'sSulzer Textil" L55OO air-jet ble-yam sensor, and single or
threads of the wrong color. machine features several recent upgrades. double knots can be selected
Stäubli easily. The length of knot
reports ends is variable, with a
there also minimum of 5 mm.
is flexibility The tying frame
with regard can be used on
to the weav- all Stäubli type
ing harnesses TPF3 tying frames,
that can be and easy mainte-
u s e d , as nance is guaran-
virtually all teed, with only
heddles used in regular lubrica-
shaft weaving can tion needed. GQ

Textile World JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010 37